Why am I so Messy?

I'm totally over it! So, I'm doing some serious Spring cleaning before I plunge headfirst into my next project. This is my Juki, my workspace. It's an eye-catching mess, a colorful jumble. I've always been very clever about disguising my messes. But, since I tend to neatly stack unorganized piles of "whatever," they never stay "neat " for very long..........

What I really have a lot of trouble keeping organized is my huge, ever growing pile of trims... mainly ribbons. I found this great storage idea from Candice Palmer's ribbon storage 101 I also like the idea of color coordinating everything and sticking them into glass jars, but I need more shelving for that (Devon can reach most of our table tops quite easily now and she absolutely LOVES to play with my ribbons and fabrics) The rest of the loft needs help too. I guess I've put off decorating (since I thought we would only be living here for less than a year) but looks like we'll be here for awhile longer. Might as well make it easy on the eye ;)

New Spring Combo

Devon models our newest items the Rustic Cotton Shell and our Spring Bouquet Skirt. Both pieces are one of a kind. I listed them because they turned out so cute and look lovely with the other merchandise in the store.... but I LOVE them on Devon! I'll most likely pull them in a few weeks (if they don't sell) to keep for Summer time. The beautiful, floral print linen fabric is from Resource Queen. I've purchased other trims from Mary Ellen's shop and she is such a pleasure to work with....LOVE her avatar!!!

Sportster Pull-ups

Baby harems! I just finished up these linen pants today. I was going to put the athletic trim at the waistband, but it looks so much cuter as teeny tiny cuffs!

~ Etsy Happiness ~

This is our newest women's wear item, the Woodgrain Sequin Top. It's a one of a kind and the perfect dressy/casual piece for dancing or date night:)

A little news...
Our interview for fellow Etsian's blog Chalkydoodles "How it's Done" series is up. Thanks so much, Lyn for the wonderful feature and also for spotlighting our new women's wear line!
I've noticed this week that we've been getting a lot more "Etsy love" than usual and that's when I realised that our Teeny Tiny Floral Tunic made it as the top item on the gift guide for the baby category! The Gift Guides are hand picked by Etsy staff from hundreds of thousands of items available, so we are super excited to be on there. Although, I have to say with now over 1,000 views and over 40 hearts, why does it still not have a home?

~ We're Doing Women's Wear ~

Well, it's definitely a work in progress, but I've started to set up our new women's wear Etsy Boutique: PAYNE. Make sure to check back periodically since I'll be adding many more items to come:) The two outfits shown above were my submissions to the Gen Art Styles Competition (they actually extended the deadline to the 30th now, jeeeeez!) anyways, hope you like them.

~ Green Fields Frock ~

My friend, Christopher gave me these great cotton prints that make me think of moss and crazy sea urchins. I love them combined and Devon looks so cute in green! Please check out more pictures of her in our Green Fields Frock. Thanks, Christopher!

~ Mint Striped Camisol ~

Devon models the first of our new Spring line-up, the Mint Striped Camisol.

Yay! Spring is finally here and Devon Rose is getting a fresh new look. I'm working on a new avatar and lots of pretty new pieces. I'm hoping to have the majority of them up by the 28th , so make sure to check back often!

~ Yoga Time ~

It's always been

my excuse for not

attending yoga class

that I have nothing to wear,

but I finally solved that problem!

I made myself harem pants

(been wanting some for awhile now)

and a double layer halter top

with a kangaroo pocket

and fat french terry binding.

I've found the perfect

offer too,ten classes for ten dollars!...no more excuses.

~ Bark Park Central ~

Devon found a new friend to play ball with
...all that room to run around...

...and everyone is right here :) Devon loves doggies!

~ How it's Done ~

Lyn Pollard at Chalkydoodles asked me to take part in her new Blog Series "How It's Done"

...."we'll get to know a lot of different types of working moms (and grandmoms) and see what they are all doing to keep it all together! We're going to take a unique peek into these women's "worlds" with a behind-the-scenes approach to how they run their businesses, but at the same time thrive in their roles as mothers, wives and friends."

she then goes on to say;

"I couldn't ask all of my featured guests to answer these tough questions without first answering them myself. So, our first featured Mom is - me!"

I have to say, I thoroughly enjoyed reading Lyn's answers to these questions (which were very thought provoking and a great experience for me, thanks Lyn!) Of course, my answers were pretty short and sweet. I can't even believe I have a blog! But, it's mostly pretty pictures, so it all makes total sense.

~ Pretty Dolls and Play Dates ~

Last night we spent some time with our neighbors who have a 2 1/2 year old daughter, Hailey that Devon just adores. Watching them play together really reinforced the fact for me that she needs to be spending a lot more time with other toddlers (instead of just hanging out with clothing obsessed mommy and WoW obsessed daddy all the time) I've also noticed that Devon definitely adopted a favorite toy of Hailey's, a little baby doll. That's when it hit me that she doesn't really have one besides a cabbage patch doll (it was mine from the 80's) My mom kept it for me to give to my daughter one day. Besides that, she has tons of stuffed animals of every sort. I have to say...I've always been more into animals myself, but who am I to push that on her? So, I've found the perfect doll maker..on Etsy..of course!

this is Betsy

these little cuties are from lulushka and are just about the most adorable dolls I've ever seen. I am in love with those little faces and the clothing she puts them in is just too cute for words!

this is Emma..and this is Henry!

Now that we solved the doll dilemma, how does one go about finding more real life tiny friends? Isaac suggested that we find a church, but attending church for social reasons only, seems a little weird to me. I've never really been a religious person. It's not that I don't believe in God, it's just that I very seldom think about it, and I do not subscribe to any sort of man made religion. In the end, we decided that was not for us. It would be so much better just to be able to put out an ad that reads:

WANTED: Super cute, styley couple with friendly toddler between the ages of 1 to 3. Must love fashion, dogs and cheese.

~ Isn't it Funny? ~

...a sneak peek at one of my outfits for Gen Art styles 2009...
Isn't it funny, that the time I actually stick to my schedule (a big feat for a horrible procrastinator such as myself) and get my pieces ready and shot for my Gen Art Styles 2009 submission, they extend the deadline to March 24th! So, I will have to post my submissions here on the new date (instead of March 17th) Meanwhile, I do feel like this weight's been lifted off of me. It's another project completed, and now I can focus on getting Devon Rose stocked for Spring. We will be opening our new Etsy boutique, Payne (women's ready to wear) on March 24th as well.

~ RAWWWR! ~

Devon wears the "Yeti Tee" by Lemon Cadet

~ Two Stylish Blondes ~

Saana (21)
Lauri (18)
More Hel-looks, these two really caught my eye. Both are stylish blonde's, but they couldn't be more different from each other. Saana being absolutely adorable, so "lady-like" and perfectly accessorized with those great boots and hair color/style that give her an edge to all that prettiness. Lauri being the androgynous art student (with really bad posture) but also perfectly accessorised and, of course, those pants...LOVE!

~ Finding a Home ~

We've just started looking for a new place and I've already fallen in love with this house. It's just what we want, a cute little cottage type with lots of character and a great yard for Devon and the dogs to play in. There's three bedrooms, two bathrooms, dark hardwood floors, great kitchen, big trees....so cute! I love the little porch:) I really want this to be the one..fingers crossed!

~ Pink Fluffy Dreams ~

I love the way Devon will (occasionally ) quietly hang out with me while I'm sewing. She'll busy herself with all of my many, many trims and fabrics~ her favorite being my silk chiffon. I want to make her a tutu out of it with like 15 layers all raw edged and crazy. She could wear it with just a plain white beater and Doc's (even though she doesn't have Docs yet, but what a perfect reason to fix that little problem!)

It always makes me smile to see her so fascinated by these things. I can't help but wonder what kind of pieces she'll make when she's old enough to take over as the designer for Devon Rose. Then, I get a little anxious wondering "what if she decides that she hates fashion and wants to be a motorcycle cop, or a lawyer, or a marine biologist"? That's when I remind myself that whatever she decides to do, she'll be amazing at it. And really, what girl in her right mind wouldn't want to design her own clothing line anyway?

~ Wrappin' it Up ~

Here's the last of my samples for my Singapore project. It took me a couple of days longer then I thought to get them all out, but I'm really happy with the end result. I'm shipping the last of my orders tonight and I've closed our Etsy boutique for one week (will re-open on Saturday 14th) I just really need to focus on my submission so I can get everything perfect for March 17th (I wanna win $5,000!)

~ Sunshine Princess ~

What a beautiful day! And what great timing (since it was perfect skirt weather) to receive this little gem from Sunshine Princess. I'm lovin' it paired with NaomiTerblanche's precious top. Etsy's the best!

~ What I'll Miss ~

.... the beautiful views from our loft...
...goodnight sun...

.... we'll be moving again, very soon...

~ Storytime and Sorbet ~

One of my favorite things to do is hang out at the bookstore and flip through all the import fashion magazines. Luckily, Devon has a thing for looking at pretty pictures as well. I try to take her to her favorite bookstore (it has a toy train set up) at least once a week. Usually, we have the whole area to ourselves. I grab some mags and we find a comfy corner in the children's section together. Yesterday, they were having story time, so it was packed full of kids. Devon headed straight for the train as usual, which was surrounded by little boys who didn't want to share, but it was so cute to watch her hold her own ~ Devon's no pushover! She doesn't get to interact with other children as much as I would like, but I have noticed that she prefers to hang with the boys. I'm sure it makes Isaac nervous already. I got her "Hop on Pop" by Dr. Seuss. Cardboard version only! (since she has a thing for eventually destroying her books as well) I have fond memories of my dad teaching me how to read with that particular book. I did take pics, but the bookstore lighting has an awful way of making every ones skin look strangely orange.

Afterwards, we shared a raspberry sorbet. I still can't get her to eat actual pieces of fruit. She finally drinks orange and apple juice, and she loves fruit yogurt (and obviously sorbet) But she still remains an incredibly picky eater ~ something that I've always been (and I'm suddenly regretting now)

~ Etsy Dallas ~

Devon Rose is proud to have been selected as a new member to Etsy Dallas for 2009. Here are some of our favorites picks from other new team members....

Scraps the Sock Monkey by

Anklebiter

The Sofie Clutch by

LolaFalkDesigns
Happy Gyoza Brooch by
littlecookie
Delicate blue bird on branch clip by
sillasoup